The fan on my Dell Inspiron 9200 was making a lot of noise. Here’s how I fixed this problem.
I have a dell inspiron 9200 and about a month ago, when I turned my PC on, the fan (not hard drive) started making this huge noise and the whole computer slowed down. After taking the whole thing apart (I was so proud cos I’d never done that before…I did desktops but never my precious one and only laptop!)….and having cleaned the fans completely, the noise still persisted. I tried doing everything from windows too but nothing helped.
I found an online forum like this and it was such a simple stupid solution…….You can make your fan go at a higher speed if u find ur laptop over heating by pressing Fn+z (Keep Fn pressed and then hit z). Do the same to slow it down.
This solution is for a Dell /any machine which has a Fn key. So try it out. If you are lucky like me, it was a error on my part. I play PC games so Fn is right next to control (shoot) and next to Z (lie-down/crouch) for my FPS! So I must have hit that combination in terror when a monster jumped out at me or something.
December 18th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Thanks so much for this tip! It worked like a charm for the same problem on my Inspiron 9200 as well. The only other way I’d gotten it to stop was to shut down and let the machine cool off before rebooting; very annoying!
So thank you, thank you, thank you!
January 1st, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Brilliant… thanks so much… had the same problem.. even though I have it on a wire baking rack!!
thank you .. thank you!!!
January 1st, 2008 at 4:35 pm
oops..
only works for a few seconds though… I have an inspiron 6000 and it’s not even over heated.. will have to keep looking..
thanks anyway.
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Fantastic, thanks so much! Really useful tip. Works on inspiron 1300 too.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Thank you so much!!! I was about to reformat my HD if this tip doesn’t work!!!
January 31st, 2008 at 10:00 am
ok guys im having the same problem but not sure if making my fan go faster or slower. Like the original poster i have a problem where my computer slows down when My fan starts making noise. I recently started to play a FPS on my pc and it was slow as shit.
Function+Z does make the fan go but how do i know if its going faster or slower?
February 15th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I have a gateway m305CRV laptop and just replaced the heat sink because the fan would run a lot. The new heat sink is just as noisy as the old one. The constant white noise is driving me nuts. How do I get the fan to throttle down? Please help!
March 27th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I have a Dell Latitude C840 and the fan is making noice. I bought a new fan but now I need to know how to take the laptop apart and replace the fan. Can you help me do this?
Thanks
April 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
OMG! That was ridiculous… that fan noise was driving me insane.. and my girlfriend too… ridiculous… thanks a bunch
May 9th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
It’s good after press Fn+z,the fan stop and without noise,but it just can maintain some seconds or minutes,(depends on the hot of the computer i think).after the fans running in a high speed and make a big noise also.how to solve it.
Thanks.
May 10th, 2008 at 2:07 am
YOU DO NOT EVEN REALIZE HOW MUCH I WANT TO HUG YOU RIGHT NOW! xD This is amazing…I thought I was making my computer do this, and that I broke it or something. Now my iPod can have a break from blaring, and overriding that ridiculous sound of my stupid computer. Thanks!
July 6th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Hi. Having a lot of problem with my Dell 9300. Fan running and very slow. I did the FN Z thing and that worked. Don’t know about the speed yet. I paid $35 for someone to check it and they told me they did not know what was wrong. It still runs slow so I will have to get it checked but these repair people don’t seem to be able to repair. Its unreal. Thanks at least the fan stopped running. Now i need to speed it up.
July 6th, 2008 at 10:33 am
OK, WOW, thanks so much. I just checked and considering I was a hair away from throwing the computer out and buying a new one, it is much faster. Its amazing. THANKS SO MUCH ! ! ! I have been pulling my hair out for months. THANKS.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:28 am
You are my hero. I spent months on this random fan problem with Dell support! My prob (Inspiron 9300) was the fan would constantly and randomly kick in at high speed for no apparent reason. Dell replaced both my fans and the motherboard and it kept happening so they told me I should reinstall my OS (didn’t do it). I found this post and then confirmed it here: http://comcap.free.fr/c640.html These guys say that what Fn+z does is force the BIOS to re-read the temperature. That’s reassuring, because it means you’re not turning off the fans permanently. Dell. I’m getting a Mac next time anyway. Thank you from Pamela in Paris! Oh, and I sent the info to Dell tech support. Duh.
September 13th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Thanks Man
It works, greate !!!
September 25th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Thanks man, you saved my life! I paid a lot to get the fan cleaned and it still made noise. So much it drove me crazy some times. But this thing works eerily on my HP laptop. I cant thank you enough
September 30th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
wow, instant fix to what i thought was going to be the last straw for me getting a new laptop. thanks!
October 13th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
i’m having the same problem. Sure it shuts the fan down,but monitor your cpu speed and load. I am always running at 800mhz it never peaks to 1.73ghz and for some reason at idle cpu load is at 100% so it’s laggy as hell.
October 25th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Dude. You’ve fixed it. This is simply amazing.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:50 am
this is not a fix for me- as some of the others my computer isnt even overheating the fan is just turning on at random times and then the computer starts lagging for no reason- this is right after i turn it on- and im just checking my email- sometimes it does it sometimes it doesnt. but i hit fn+z and it shuts off for 5 seconds to a min and then turns back on. very weird- if i find anything else i will come back and post it for those others who have the same problem as me.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Man you deserve the craziest hug from me. It saved me hell lot of trouble. I just dont know how to thank you. Sharing is indeed caring.
December 13th, 2008 at 10:56 am
It’s all very well speeding up and slowing down the fans to stop the noise, but the fans are there for a reason and if you slow them down/stop them just to get rid of the noise the laptop will overheat (like mine did) and break something (the video card in my case). Is there no fine oil spray or something that will actually stop the fans being noisy without stopping the fans?
December 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Please someone help me with my nasty INSPIRON 9200. The fan never stops running after 5 minutes or so. I troed Fn + z stuff but it only works to speed-up but never speed-down… I’m thinking of replacing with a new fan but I don’t believe it is a problem of hardware that’s making problem but it is the matter of thermostat or some software which detects the temperature inside… I would really appreciate if someone could let me know how I should solve this problem!
December 24th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Amazing! Same problem with my Inspiron 9200 for months. I was at the point of giving up and buying a new laptop as had tried everything. Such a simple solution. Cheers!
December 26th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
sparky,
Thanks for the feedback. What did you try to sort this out..? I do something else which you didn’t try before I come to the point to buy a new laptop….
Shingyy
January 1st, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Further proof that my BIOS absolutely despises me.
Much obliged for the help, especially from the comments.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Thanks, Inspiron 9300 fan problem solved. Just hit Fn+z.
Who makes this function and not print it on the keyboard?
January 9th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
It seems there are much people use Dell Inspiron 9*** series Laptop.I am satisfaction with this computer’s speed.that’s good.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me…
I have a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo L1300, and the fan is going absolutely crazy. It has been loud and coming on every second minute ever since I got it (about 3 years ago). But it has gotten louder and louder and lately it has taken to never stopping whilst being turned on. It is driving me insane. I wear earplugs because the noise is so distracting, and my fellow students run for their lives when my dear (and confused) Fujitsu Siemens and I wander towards their desk 3 minutes before the lesson starts. *sigh*
Is there any program I can download to be able to control what temperature the fan starts on or something like that? Or should I buy a fan controller of some sort (or a whole new fan? But since it has always been loud maybe buying a new fan won’t save me..)?
Thank you in advance for any answer that might help!!
April 18th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I8kfanGUI
http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/
I have a Dell Inspiron 9200, works like a charm
Fully customizable
But remember if you want longevity you better keep that puppy cool.
April 18th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Just a reminder also
CHECK YOUR FANS AND SCREENS
I had a good friend who was complaining about his ‘NOISY’ Dell computer. When I dropped by to look at it for him I was shocked, not really I have seen way worse it just sounds funny, his computer was full of crap and dust. So a little compressed air, with a ground strap on of course, and 20 minutes later that DELL was as quiet as a church mouse.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I tried what you’ve posted. Though I don’t know if I have the same problem as you. I don’t even know when I’m pressing fn+z if it’s even changing the speed of my fan lol. My issue is a little bit different. Though I’ve been told by many people that they think it’s my harddrive I think it’s a little bit different. I own a DELL Inspiron 1501. It’s about a year and 5 months old. There at first it was used constantly 24/7 even left on a few days in a row for downloading, which is why I think it’s a fan problem. But anymore my laptop HAS to be on a flat surface, and I mean FLAT. It can’t be tilted what so ever in a weird way or else the left side of my laptop, where the fan is swirls and whirls at a high speed, and blows more air then usual. Usually the only way I can fix this is if I put my computer into sleep mode or shut it down which totally stops everything, and I sit and wait a few moments before turning it back on.
Now if I’m just sitting here, and have the laptop laying on a flat surface it’s fine, I have no problems with it at all. But if I tilt it my computer just starts to vibrate and where the fans at makes a weird grinding noise and more air ends up pushing out from the vent hole.
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:05 am
OK this works good and well but what do you do when you want to speed the fan back up?
August 16th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Hi, I’ve been trying desperately to find out what is wrong with my laptop all of a sudden and no one seems to know the answer! Just a month ago, my laptop fan started making a lot of noise, and blowing out a lot of air – like it’s overworking.
I tried pressing FN+z but it didnt work on my lap top. I have a Dell XPS M1330.
I’d be so grateful if someone can help me fix this! I’m reluctant to use my lap top now because the noise is so annoying
Thanks in Advance,
SiSi
August 28th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
It worked for me, and my inspiron 9100. Thanks.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Thank you for sharing the Fn z. Only the noise will go back after a while. My Dell laptop is only 9 months old. I cannot see dust from outside. Do I have to open up the laptop and check for dust?
September 25th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Great advice.. it worked on my dell inspiron 9300!
October 6th, 2009 at 9:57 am
hey i tried the fn combination..but it didnt work for me..i have dell 1420 and my fan is making lot of noise
October 26th, 2009 at 11:35 am
thanks
it worked on my dell inspiron 6400 [30 months old]
October 27th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I have an Inspiron 9100 and have bought new desk top to replace it at work as the speed had become such a problem and I gave up on resolving problem after I had tried everything and also the IT guy at work couldn’t fix it.
Well tonight I dug it out for another try whilst watching Taken (great film by the way) and after reading this article I cannot believe I have fix the problem so quickly and easily, I am sure gameplay keys in Battlefield 2 was to blame.
Thank you so much!
November 4th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Yup. Worked on my Dell Inspiron 2200. Thanx!
December 7th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
you’re my hero! I really did not believe this would work! cheers!
December 15th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
SiSi and others with a Dell XPS M1330:
My wife’s M1330, like many, maybe most/all, runs hot due to inadequate video card cooling. If your video card fan is going bonkers trying to keep things cool, try a notebook cooler pad to put the M1330 on. The first and cheapest pad we found at Fry’s knocked down the temperature by 15-20 degrees. So now the pad is noisy and the M1330 is quiet. Oh well . . .
January 2nd, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Thanks! fn key + z stopped the fan noise on my dell !
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:02 pm
lol…n i was about to install my laptop ont he ceiling !
March 25th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
HELP PLEASE!!
My Dell insprion 1525 is making a funny noise with the fan i do use it alot and i had it turned off over night thinking the noise would go away the next day..well it didnt! Please help i dont know what to do! The fan is loud and then a noise comes on and off
Thanks!1
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Hi Guys,
This website is great!
I have a dell Inspiron 9300 Core2 2.0GHz, 2 gig RAM, 256mb NVIDIA Geforce 7900GS, with a 160 gig HD.
The computer still works and turns on normally and I can do normal work things with it but I cant play games properly. When I do play games the frame rate is very low.
I found out that there are 2 fans on the this laptop. When looking from the top of the computer, like you would be working on it, the left fan is for the video card and the right for the CPU.
The CPU fan still works, and I downloaded a program that forces all the fans to work at thier maximum. That did make the CPU fan work hard but the video fan didnt budge.
So I thought that the GPU is overheating and that the low framerate is protecting GPU from damaging itself.
Now the problem that I have is that I need to find replacement fans, I’ll replace both fans, and then I need directins on opening and replacing the fans.
Thanks so much!
John
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:23 pm
genious! after pressing Fn+z, the fan stopped the noise and i can now watch youtube videos on my inspiron 9400, thanks alot!
September 13th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
thnks for the suggestion the sound has decreased….
November 4th, 2010 at 8:54 am
I used the Fn+z tip and the sound went away; however, after about 10 seconds the sound came back… any advice? I have a Dell Latitude D610.
Great topic by the way
November 16th, 2010 at 4:58 am
I have a dell Inspiron 9400.. and IT WORKED !!!!!!!! thanks buddy.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Thanks! Worked like a charm on my Inspiron 1721! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
March 27th, 2011 at 5:54 am
Many thanks for the fix. It worked on my wife’s Inspiron 9300. That is a truly annoying sound…LOL
April 13th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
thnks, it solved my problem
January 16th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
wow that works for me… inspiron 1525… but does it affect the cooling system?? will laptop be overheated ? thanks again